Hot Dish Review

Talk about hard to find! From Helen, B and I made our way along the mountainous twists and turns through Dahlonega, trying to follow the directions from the Montaluce website. The lack of street signs was not helpful. We finally resorted to calling for directions.

We were a bit late but no worries. Montaluce’s Tasting Room is a long, cavernous space with a bar on the left and seating groups on the right. Hundreds of wine bottles decorate the wall behind the bar where Bill greeted us while setting up some glasses and describing Montaluce’s wines.

We started with sparkling Adami prosecco. (Hey, I’m not gonna turn down a glass of bubbly!) Bill recommended we try an assortment of cheeses and charcuterie….perfect with the reds we were about to sample.

Montaluce grows a variety of wine grapes including chardonnay, voignier, and cabernet sauvignon. Bill poured B and I a big taste of their viognier, a delicate white with hints of peach. I usually go for whites in the summer, usually a grassy sauvignon blanc or sweet riesling. The viognier wasn’t my style.

Regarding white wines, I am a snob. I will not even consider drinking a pinot grigio or a chardonnay…..too pedestrian. Naturally, Montaluce makes a chardonnay. Described as having aromas of green apples, pear, and lemon zest with nuances of smoke, walnut and honeysuckle. Damn, it was pretty good.

Montaluce’s Risata, Italian for “laughter”, is an aromatic rose, another light option for warmer months. Bill quipped “Rose is making a comeback” as B and I commented on its nearly-forgotten status among wines.

Our server, Desiree, delivered our selection of cheeses and charcuterie. Four cheeses included one of my new favorites, Cana di Cabra, a Spanish goat cheese with a crumbly center, semi-ripened near the rind, reminiscent of Humboldt Fog (without the ash). Paired with fennel jam, B and I loved it! The Pleasant Ridge Reserve was a semi-hard cheese, delicious accompanied by pickled golden raisins.

Sweetgrass Green Hill was a smooth soft cheese resting on a smudge of plum jam and topped with chopped Marcona almonds. Valdeon blue was the most pungeont of the group, accompanied by caramelized shallots and celery leaf….odd and good.

Two of the three meats are made in-house….the chicken liver mousse and the coppa di testa, otherwise known as headcheese. Not a lover of chicken livers, I actually liked it here. Not nearly as unctuous as it can often be, I found the pairing of pickled green tomatoes a wonderful compliment.

The headcheese was seared, ridding it of any unpleasant gelatinous goo one often finds binding the unidentifiable meats. It was, in fact, chunky with hunks of smoky pork. Topped with apple mostarda, it was a real winner!

Benton’s country ham was drizzled with vin cotto, a sweet red wine reduction. Awesome. Although I prefer bread and butter, crispy crackers and breadsticks were served with the cheeses and meats.

The red wines we sampled with the cheeses were Montaluce’s merlot and cabernet. I honestly could not tell them apart. Both were good but neither stellar.

Featuring many Italian wines, Bill poured us a glass of the 2005 Brandini Nebbiolo from the Piedmont region of Italy. Next we tried the 2008 Tormaresca “Neprica” from Puglia. My knowledge of Italian wines is very limited, mainly due to its ridiculously complicated system. Bill educated us on the categories and regions, although I think I would have to take a few more classes to be comfortable ordering Italian.

Next we toured the winery. Another glass of Neprica in our hands, B and I checked out the room where the grapes are de-stemmed and crushed. Then they are ready for two weeks of fermentation in the stainless vats on the lower level. The juice is pressed out and the resulting wine is pumped into oak barrels to age…..it all reminded me of the wineries I visited in Spain exactly a year ago (although some claim I wasn’t even there).

Bill was an encyclopedia of wine trivia. For instance, blends called “meritage” (derived from “merit” and “heritage” and pronounced like heritage) must meet strict standards, containing wine from at least two of the bordeaux grapes (merlot, cab franc, cab, malbec). That moniker, however, isn’t earned, it is purchased.

Our wine adventure was nearing an end. Dinner at Le Vigne, the winery’s restaurant, was next on our agenda. Desiree showed us to a table outside overlooking the gorgeous green vineyard.

Another glass of Tormaresca please. Would we ever be able to find our way home? Stay tuned and find out…..